LONDON — About 10 years ago, in my first months as head of Radio at the EBU, my main priority was championing the adoption of DAB+ as the standard for digital broadcasting. It involved traveling extensively around Europe with PowerPoint presentations on my laptop and meeting with regulatory authorities, governments and, of course, broadcasters themselves. Strange to relate, this involved advocacy even in France and Italy, territories which we now see as well advanced in their DAB+ rollout. Slow but steady progress was made during that period; after all, creating a new transmission system cannot be done overnight.
Something happened in late 2016 to change the focus of our energies. Alexa, in the person of the Amazon Echo, was launched in Europe at the end of September. I remember vividly the meeting in which it was first discussed as a new challenge for existing broadcasters. And, unbelievably, it was, in some sense, an instant network straight out of the box — no masts to build, no cables or wiring beyond the home Wi-Fi. Though my DAB+ advocacy continued, there was a change of emphasis in the radio industry: Can we get our stations onto the Amazon Echo, and how can we communicate with this new radio gatekeeper?
I don’t regret redirecting our energies, since Amazon’s product represented an immediate challenge to the world as we had known it. As such, the radio industry needed to devise a quick response. Indeed, alongside our work on devices, we successfully lobbied the EU to include radio in the European Electronic Communications Code — a comprehensive set of rules that aims to update and modernize the EU’s telecommunications framework — requiring that all new cars sold in the EU from December 2020 must be equipped with receivers capable of digital terrestrial radio. In my mind, that was the high point in the international DAB+ story, which fueled subsequent adoption.
With the ever-increasing sophistication of digital tools and devices, I have, like many, wondered about the value of terrestrial broadcast radio.
Energizing the radio landscape
In this column, I have not written much about DAB+, but it’s worth highlighting its continuing expansion across Europe and beyond. Looking around Europe, the situation continues to be quite encouraging. Things are finally moving forward in Ireland and Portugal, with trials underway. Austria has massively increased the number of stations on DAB+, while Switzerland stopped FM broadcasting at the end of last year. Meanwhile, regarding functionality, the Germans have introduced an Automatic Safety Alert system, which can deliver warnings without needing online connectivity. It all sounds really positive!
So, I was pleased to speak to Jacqueline Bierhorst, president of WorldDAB, who is clear that DAB+ is far from being a thing of the past. “Just in the last six months,” Bierhorst notes, “we’ve seen the launch of DAB+ in Turkey and the announcement of a nationwide rollout in Greece, as well as new trials in countries as diverse as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Thailand.” This momentum is mirrored by continued growth in long-established markets. According to Bierhorst, DAB+ continues to energize the radio landscape by offering listeners greater choice and allowing broadcasters to reach larger audiences and generate more revenue, particularly in regions where FM bandwidth is saturated.
Live and linear
In our increasingly connected world, there are questions about the need for terrestrial radio broadcasting. Still, Bierhorst is clear: “Linear may be the backbone of radio, but broadcast is its heart — it keeps everything alive.” At Radiodays Europe in Athens earlier this year, she heard similar sentiments, with calls for radio broadcasters to emphasize terrestrial broadcasting’s live and linear nature. DAB+ is, she insists, the digital future of broadcast radio in much of the world, offering broadcasters crucial control over their distribution while they compete for attention with digital tech giants. “In these uncertain times,” Bierhorst adds, “DAB+ also provides a robust infrastructure for critical emergency broadcasts.”
The European Electronic Communications Code has been a key driver of DAB+ adoption. “Drivers love radio,” says Bierhorst. “And the EECC means that DAB+ has been standard in almost every new car in Europe for nearly five years now.” This has had a tangible impact. In the United Kingdom over that period, in-car DAB+ listening has jumped from just over 40% to 56.4%.
in 2024, starting with Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao.
Broadcasting beyond the car
Looking ahead, Bierhorst is focused on ensuring radio retains its prominence in connected car dashboards — a topic discussed in detail at the WorldDAB Automotive event in Madrid on June 19. The impact of the EECC goes further still. Ensuring millions of cars are already equipped with DAB+ has made it easier for countries to roll out services. “In Spain,” Bierhorst explains, “there are already around four million DAB+-equipped cars; this was a major factor in public broadcaster RTVE’s decision to expand DAB+ to 15 cities in the past year.”
Although voice-activated devices are popular at home, Bierhorst sees no reason to believe broadcast will retreat to the car alone. “Listeners love the ease of DAB+ at home and work,” she says. Innovative features such as potentially life-saving Automatic Safety Alert, which provides localized emergency warnings without the need for connectivity, will ensure radio remains indispensable in times of crisis.
“The future of radio is bright,” says Bierhorst. “Listeners continue to love radio, and DAB+ ensures it remains central to their audio experience. As part of a broader digital strategy, terrestrial broadcasting keeps radio growing. At WorldDAB, we’re ready to support the many markets turning to DAB+ as a resilient, forward-looking solution.”
Speaking to Jacqueline Bierhorst was a valuable experience for me. With the ever-increasing sophistication of digital tools and devices, I have, like many, wondered about the value of terrestrial broadcast radio. In a world that seems less certain, we may need conventional broadcasting distribution in its enhanced digital form more than ever.
The author was head of Radio at the EBU until 2020, and before that, managing editor of one of the BBC’s national stations. He currently advises media organizations.
This story originally appeared in the July/August 2025 edition of RedTech Magazine.
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